Tuesday, February 15, 2011

In Memory of...

So today I was so pleased to get home in time to help Ethan with his science lesson.

What started out as lesson on lasers quickly turned to a discussion on the speed of light which lead to scientific notation which lead to waves and frequencies and sines and cosines...and on and on.

I may have gotten a little carried away, but I just love science.

Ethan and I actually have been working on another little science experiment...Snowflake Blake.

With all the snow recently, we decided to make a snowman.

(along with everyone else in town!)

For our experiment we documented his evolution. Here it is as follows:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 2.5

Day 3

Day 5

Day 7

Day 8

The experiment was loosely designed to create some discussion on which scientific principle was as work: The Second Law of Thermodynamics or The Theory of Evolution?

The Second Law of Thermodynamics very generally states that systems tend to move to a greater state of disorder, while the theory of evolution basically proposes that certain systems tend to move towards a greater level of complexity and order.

Now I know that there is much controversy over whether evolution and entropy (Second Law of Thermodynamics) can even truly be compared when you get to more in-depth definitions of each. I also know that Snowflake Blake is in anything but a closed system, a proposed criteria for the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

But it still served for a good catalyst for some fun scientific discussion with my son.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on evolution versus entropy.I'd also love to see your snowman pictures if you have them!

About Me

Life was never meant to be this way! The discouragement, disappointment, loneliness of our world are symptoms of a broken system. 180 is committed to sharing the truth that there is another way - another world that is possible. This blog is just one way that we are trying to be a relevant voice of truth amid a chorus of confusion.